Everyone Has A Secret
by lipseeker2009
Summary: When Rylie shows up in Mystic Falls, she's leaving a horrible past behind her. She thought this town would be perfect for a new start. But how many of these people are hiding secrets of their own? Will the start she's looking for come to a screeching halt? Or will she be able to finally settle down in one place? Damon/OC story
1. Chapter 1

Rylie finally found a small enough town to call home. All that was left was to find a place to live and a job off the books. Walking down the long curvy road she kept looking over her shoulder. She kept wondering if this was the right spot to start over. It had been raining and she was drenched. She didn't bother looking in her bag, she knew they clothes she had in there were just as wet. Up a head Rylie saw buildings. A small smile appeared on her lips. She was starving. The food she had was eaten hours ago. Her stomach needed something in it. It was starting to yell at her. She picked up the pace and hurried to the town. Just over the hill she saw it. She threw her head back in happiness. This is the first town she saw in days. She saw the random diners and delis in the middle of nowhere. But this was the real deal. She really didn't want to sleep outside again. Especially in the rain. Rylie reached the town and looked around. A coffee shop, an animal hospital, various clothing stores, a diner, a grill, a bar. She went to the coffee store. She needed something warm. But when she reached the door it was closed. _Crap,_ she thought. She turned around and saw the diner and the grill. The grill was closer. Her legs hurt from her miles of walking. She walked to the small distance and was thrilled to see it was open. She pulled the door open and the noise poured out with the smell of burgers and food. Her stomach growled to the smell and her mouth watered.

"Welcome to the Mystic Grill. Can I get you a table?" a brunette host asked. Rylie looked at her and smiled.

"In a few. Where's the bathroom?" the hostess looked her up and down and pointed to the other side of the restaurant. "Thanks." Rylie walked towards the bathroom. She wanted to check the clothes she had. She knew they were wet but she wanted to just make sure. The clothes she was wearing felt disgusting. She entered the restroom and saw it was empty. Putting her bag on the counter she pulled out her hairbrush and toothbrush. After brushing her hair and teeth she started to go through her clothes. As she suspected, they were all drenched from the weather. At the bottom of her backpack in a small plastic bag was her money. She had enough for one maybe two months' rent depending on the apartment. She also had a few extra bucks for food. She pulled out a ten hoping it was enough for a burger and water. She went to the hand dryer to try to dry herself off. It really didn't work.

After the dead attempted of drying off she exited the bathroom. Looking around she saw how busy the place was. There were people of all ages in this place. She looked at the bar wanting an alcoholic beverage. But that would be more money than she was willing to spend. As she was taking in the scenery someone bumped in to her.

"Oh, sorry." The brunette said looking up from her phone.

"It's my fault I was just standing here." Rylie answered while walking away. She went back to the hostess and asked her for a table closest to the fireplace. As she sat down she opened her menu. The prices weren't that bad here. She was actually able to order a soda instead of just water. She made a mental note to get a water to go and not to eat her whole meal. She wasn't sure when she would be able to find work and an apartment.

The waiter came over and took her order. Before he left she asked him for a spare pen. After receiving one she took a napkin and started on a must do list. Find apartment, find a job, buy clothes, buy food, buy pre-paid cell. She didn't need much, just more than what she carried on her back. While she was writing her food arrived. She thanked the waited and bit into her burger. Rylie closed her eyes and enjoyed the burst of flavor in her mouth. She took a sip of her drink and put the burger down to start on the fries.

"Everything alright?" she heard the young waiter say.

"Great, thanks." She said looking at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is there anyone around here renting an apartment or looking for a roommate that you know of?"

"New to town?" He asked crossing his arms. Rylie just looked at her backpack.

"Yeah. I'm staying in town for a little while. I just got here tonight and have no place yet."

"I'm not sure about anyone looking. But if I hear of anything I'll let you know."

"Yeah, if you could that would be really great."

"I'm Matt by the way." He said putting his hand out. Rylie took it.

"Rylie. Thanks for all your help Matt." She said with a smile.

"All in a day's work. Where you from?" She didn't want to answer it. So she answered it like she did at the diner two nights ago and the deli four days ago.

"Around. I moved a lot. My dad is in the service."

"What are you doing in Mystic Falls?" How was she going to answer that without raising red flags to the locals?

"Once I find that out I will let you know."

"Well Rylie, if you need anything let me know." Matt smiled and walked away.

Half way through her meal she wanted to finish it. But she needed to keep it just in case there were no apartments available. She waved down Matt to pay her bill.

"Everything alright?" he asked as he approached.

"Yeah, I just want to take this to go and to pay the bill."

"On the house." Rylie looked at him. "You're new. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks." Rylie asked gathering her stuff.

"Good luck." Matt said waving her a farewell as she made her way to the front. She saw the hostess from before.

"Excuse me?" She asked. The brunette looked up with a snobby smile.

"Yes?"

"Do you know of any hotels in the area?"

"No, sorry. But there is the Salvatore Boarding House in the town." She took a piece of paper and wrote down a number. "Here's the number." She handed Rylie the paper and pointed to the pay phone to the side.

"Thanks." Rylie said as she looked at the paper and headed to the phone.

She grabbed the quarter out of her pocket and picked up the receiver. She slid the coin in and dialed the number. But nothing happened. She looked at the phone and then the receiver. She hit the end button a few times but with no result. She sighed in defeat. Putting her bag down she threw her blonde hair up into a loose ponytail while looking around the building. She was hoping to find another phone in the area.

_Really, not my day right now. No phone, no address, come on I want a shower!_ She thought frustrated.

"Problem?" she heard from behind her. She spun around and saw a tall raven head guy with piercing blue eyes.

"Uh, yeah. The phone doesn't work, and I need it to."

"You don't have a cell phone? It is the 21st century." The man said taking a phone out of his pocket.

"I used to."

"You can use mine. Just local calls please." He smirked.

"Thanks, really I appreciate it. I just need to call the Boarding House"

"The Salvatore Boarding house?" The man asked.

"Yeah, the hostess said there are no hotels in the area but there was the Boarding House." Rylie said looking at him.

"Well, I know the owner and I can tell that they are not taking people in. They haven't for a while now."

"Well, I rather hear that from the horse's mouth." She said looking at the phone in her hand. It felt like forever since she had a cell phone in her hand. Or any phone for that matter. She had not had any communication with anyone since she started this thing.

"You just did." The man said making her forget her thoughts.

"You?" she asked.

"Damon Salvatore. Owner and operator of the Salvatore Boarding House. And sorry ma'am we aren't taking tenants."

Rylie looked down. First no phone, and now no place to stay. Why didn't this town have a place for visitors to stay? There had to be a way to get this guy to let her stay for the night. Just until she can move on to the next town. She needed a shower and she was getting distressed. Still looking down she handed Damon his phone back and went to the restroom. She found an empty stall and started to cry. She came all this way for nothing. She wanted to find a town in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere no one would think of looking for her. And here she was standing in a bathroom stall in a town no one heard of. Just to be shut out. She knew being anywhere was better than where she was. But she didn't think this would happen. What town doesn't have a hotel? This was for the best. She couldn't crumble now. Not after everything she just went through to even get here. She lifted her chin wiped her eyes and went to the sink. She saw a young blonde at the sink fixing her hair. She gave her a weak smile as she washed her face.

"Are you alright?" the blonde said. Rylie looked up at her at the mirror.

"Yeah, thanks." She dried her face with a paper towel.

"You aren't alright. People don't cry when they're alright. I'm Caroline. You're new."

"I'm fine really."

"Can I get you something to drink? Maybe some fresh clothes?" This girl was asking her if she needed help. And there was Damon Salvatore who saw her in the same position and can't open his Boarding House for one night.

"I just need a place to shower and then I'm out of this town. But there is no hotel. So I'm leaving. Thanks though." She said walking out.

"Hey, wait." Caroline said walking after her. "Come use my shower. I even have a whole bunch of clothes if you need them." Rylie looked at this girl like she was crazy. Was this young teenager really inviting a stranger into her house? "I live with the town Sheriff. I'm not some nut who does this all the time. But you really look like you need some help."

"At least someone sees it." Rylie mumbled under her breath seeing the raven head at the bar. Caroline looked too.

"What do you mean?"

"I was about to call the Salvatore Boarding House, but I met the owner. He isn't having people there." Rylie said looking away from Damon and back at the blonde.

"He's only one of the owners. He's got a little brother who is a little bit more understanding than him. Damon is a dick." Caroline said still looking at the bar. Rylie smiled and then looked back at the bar and Damon was looking at them. She saw Caroline smirk at the man then turned to Rylie. "So, again I'm Caroline."

"I'm Rylie."

"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up Rylie. Did you eat?"

"Yeah. Really I don't want to intrude. But thanks."

"I don't take no as an answer. So you might just want to say yes and get it over with." Rylie smiled a little with a laugh. She liked this girl. She was young. Younger than most of her old friends. But mature.

"Fine." Rylie gave in. The two blondes walked out of the Grill and got into Caroline's car. After a few moments of silence Caroline started asking questions.

"So what brings you to Mystic Falls?" she heard the teen say.

"I'm not too sure yet." She said still looking at the passing town.

"Well, where you from?"

"Around. My dad was in the service. We moved a lot when I was a kid."

"Where were you before you came here?" Rylie hadn't been asked that question. She didn't want to say where she was from. She just wanted to be away from there. She was trying to think of an answer fast so it didn't look mysterious.

"Um, I was just in a town about 50 miles away 2 days ago." She answered. It was the truth. She just didn't tell the town.

"Did your car break down there? I know someone who is really good at repairing cars we can go there if you need to." Rylie just shook her head.

"I don't have a car."

"Did you take the bus or something?" the older blonde looked at the younger one from the corner of her eye. She could see Caroline eyeing her hands and wrists. Was she looking for something? Rylie saw a big blue ring on her hand. She fell in love with it. She turned her head all the way and looked even more.

"That is such a gorgeous ring." She stated. Caroline lifted her hand and looked at it.

"Thanks it's a family air loom. I never take it off." Rylie looked away. Family air loom? She would never have one of those. That could be a good thing. Just one more thing to hang on to if she had to leave in a rush. She couldn't do that. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. It's been a long few weeks."

"Do you have anything?"

"Just what's in the backpack." Rylie answered pointing to the backseat.

"Why?" Rylie wasn't going to answer that. That was the one thing she would keep her mouth shut on. She slumped farther into her seat and looked out the window again. Caroline saw the motion. "Hey sorry if I upset you. I'm just nosey. I will keep quiet." Rylie knew she meant it. But she still wasn't going to answer.

"Thanks for letting me use your shower. I really do appreciate it."

"Really, it's no problem. And if I can't get Stefan to let you stay at the Boarding house stay with me tonight. Get a good night sleep before you head out again."

"Thanks. Maybe a will take a nap and wait until the rain stops if the other owner says no."

"Spend the night. When was the last time you had a girl's night?" Caroline said looking at her. Rylie had no idea. It had to be in her senior year of high school. She was 23. "We can watch chick flicks eat popcorn. My mom is working tonight. I can invite my other girlfriends."

"As tempting as all that sounds, I haven't had a decent night sleep in weeks. If the Salvatore's say no, I'm just gonna take a nap and then head out. I rather not waste much time if I don't have to."

"What if I can get Stefan to say yes? Will you at least spend the night with me?" Caroline wanted to try to see what she was running from.

"ONLY if they say yes. And then tomorrow I will go the Boarding House."

"Good, because I have a whole bunch of clothes that you can have." The rest of the drive was silent. Rylie wasn't comfortable taking things from Caroline. She wasn't used to being helped or served. It was the other way around the last 5 years for her.

They pulled up to a white house. It was cute; it had the southern charm Rylie was starting to love about walking this way. It was much nicer than the place she was living at just 3 short weeks ago.

"This is it." Caroline got out of the driver's seat. Rylie followed after she grabbed her bag from the back. Caroline opened the door and walked in with the older blonde behind her. "Bathroom is this way. The lining closet is in the bathroom with towels. The shampoo is on the shower rack with the soap. If you need anything let me know." Caroline said in front of the room.

"Thanks." Rylie answered and walked in closing the door behind her. She knew the shower would be the best feeling in the world. He hoped the other Salvatore said she could stay at the house. She wanted to know she had a place to go if she needed too. If not then she was on the road later tonight.

While Rylie was in the shower, Caroline got a blood bag and brought it to her room as she looked for clothes to give to Rylie. She liked the older girl. There was something about her that she liked. She hated that if Stefan said she couldn't stay that she would leave. She made a mental note to call her mother and ask her if she can rent out the spare guest room to Rylie.

Caroline heard the shower go off. Using her vampire speed she ran and threw the blood bag away. While she was looking for clothes she found a pair of black skinnies and a peach blouse. She wasn't sure of Rylie's shoe size but figured she would ask later.

"Hey Rylie?" Caroline said from the outside of the door. "I have clothes for you."

Rylie couldn't wait to put dry clothes on. When Caroline announced she had some she was taking things out of her bag. Her money and her important paperwork. She opened up the door slightly and looked at the teen.

"Can I ask a really small favor?" Rylie asked shyly.

"Of course!"

"Can you put all of this in the dryer?"

"Sure. Is your old clothes from today in there?" Rylie nodded and Caroline took the backpack. "The pack too?"

"Please?"

"Sure." She started to walk away. "Oh, I put in a fresh pair of underwear. Never worn. And the shirt has a built in bra. And I didn't know what size shoe you were so I didn't bring you any."

"This is more than enough. Thank you so much."

"If you need a blow dryer it's in the bottom right drawer."

"Thanks. My hair dries straight."

"Lucky!" Caroline said as she walked away.

Rylie closed the door and finished dressing. She took her money and paperwork and stuffed them in the pocket of the jeans. Inside the bag with her money and paperwork, was a picture of her adoptive mother. She missed her. It was the one thing she made sure she took with her. She took it out and stared at it. Putting it away she left the bathroom. She ran into Caroline in the hallway.

"Everything is in the dryer. I'm going to call Stefan. Why don't you go lie down? The guest room is right down the hallway to the right."

"Sounds great. Thanks." Rylie found the room and laid down. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

Stefan's phone rang a few times before he answered.

"Hello?"

"I need a favor."

"What?" Caroline explained everything about Rylie. How Damon denied her, and how she felt that the girl was running from someone. "How do you know she is actually running from someone?"

"Just the things she says Stefan. The answers to my questions are all vague. She will leave if you say no. She has nowhere else to go."

"Where is she now?" he asked.

"She's sleeping in my guest room. Stefan you should have seen her. She was wet and dirty. And your brother being the dick he is denies her. She's scared of something. I just don't know of what."

"Look, why don't I come by and I can meet her. Is she a vampire?"

"Don't you think I would have told you that as soon as I called you? That would have gotten a text from me. She's not. However she loves my ring." Caroline said looking at the lapis lazuli ring on her middle finger. "But come by. I like her Stefan. She needs help. At least she will be protected in a town filled with vampires."

"Fine I'm on my way." Caroline hit the end button and went to her room and changed. A little while later she was opening the door for Stefan and Elena. "She's still sleeping. Should I wake her?"

"I would. I wanna meet her not see her." Stefan said smiling. Caroline turned on her heel and went into the guest room.

"Rylie? Rylie." She said. Rylie moaned and slowly opened her eyes. "Sorry, Stefan is here. He wants to meet you." Rylie slowly got up. "Want some coffee?"

"Oh my God you are now my best friend. Coffee sounds like gift sent from above." Caroline laughed.

"Coffee it is." Rylie got up and followed Caroline out of the room. Down the hall they entered the living room. She saw a tall guy who looked nothing like Damon. He had brown hair and green eyes that were a little darker than the green in her hazel eyes. He was with a young girl who had long dark brown hair. She could tell they were both around Caroline's age. "Stefan this is Rylie. Rylie this is Stefan Salvatore and his girlfriend Elena Gilbert." Caroline introduced. "I'm going to make Rylie some coffee. Anyone else?" Elena and Stefan both declined and the teen left the room.

"It's nice to meet you." Stefan said.

"Likewise. Thank you so much for meeting me."

"It's really no problem. I know how my brother can be. Where you from?" Rylie knew these questions would come. She sat on the winged chair in the corner of the room as she answered.

"Here and there. Dad was in the service so we moved a lot." The answer was become second nature. Stefan nodded.

"What brought you to Mystic Falls?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm just looking for a new beginning." She wasn't completely lying. She had a past she didn't want to go back to.

"How long are you planning on staying?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure. I can find a job and pay you and your brother for letting me stay there. I have a few bucks for a while depending on the price you offer." Caroline was walking back in the room with a cup of coffee for Rylie.

"Stefan is not going to charge you. You're my friend."

"She's right. Caroline's friend is our friend." Elena said.

"So you will let her stay?" Caroline said with a perky voice.

"Sure. When do you want to move in?"

"Tomorrow." Caroline answered. "Tonight we are having a girl's night. It the deal we made." The teen looked at Rylie with a smile on her face. And then looked back at Stefan. "Thanks so much. I will bring her there tomorrow afternoon. After she sleeps and we go through my closet and give her clothes." Stefan and Elena stood up to leave. Rylie followed their leads.

"Thank you Stefan. You have no idea how much this means." Rylie looked at her new blonde friend and smiled.

"If you need anything let me know. Caroline will give you my number." With that they left.

"Yay, you get to stay." Caroline said happily. Rylie was thrilled too. Deep down she knew she was going to miss Caroline if Stefan had said no. "Told you Stefan is more understanding."

The rest of the night went by in a blur. Caroline went through every drawer and every inch of her closet to find clothes to give to Rylie. She found shoes, jewelry, belts, hats, bags even sunglasses. It amazed Rylie that she had all this. Rylie kept telling her that she didn't need all of this. With Stefan not charging her for staying there she had enough money to hold her over for a little bit. But she was having a good time seeing all the clothes that she was getting for free. Caroline was more than happy to give them away. They decided that they would spend the night in Caroline's room. Around 2 am the girls finally laid down for bed.

"I can't wait to see Damon's face tomorrow when you show up at the Boarding House." Caroline said before she fell asleep. Rylie hadn't thought about that. Now she was anxious.

**AN::: Chapter 1 of my third story. Please let me know what you think. And to all my loyal minions who have been with me since my first story "Do I Have To Cry For You?" let me know you are still with me! Feedback is much appreciated! **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:: I forgot to put this in my last author's note in the last chapter. But a huge thanks to Tvdlover87654 for helping me with chapter 1. Thanks girl!**

**Anyway, here is the 2****nd**** chapter. Let me know what you think we a review! Thanks loyal minions!**

Rylie was in a room. It was dark and damp. She heard muffled noise coming out from the closed door. She tried to move but she was tied up. She was lying on a bed with her hands bond to the bed post. Her lower body was free. She moved her body as much as she could up. She didn't know this place. Looking around there was no light, no window of any sort. Where was this place? The muffled noises came closer to the door. Her heart was already pounding in her chest. As the noise, no they were voices were coming closer her heartbeat got faster. Baboom, Baboom. She started to sweat. The door started to open slowly. She saw a black figure enter and it was getting closer to her. Tears that were brimming her eyes were now falling over. She sobs were coming out as hiccups. As the figure got closer she saw it was a man. The man bent down over her.

"Don't worry Rylie, be a good girl and this won't hurt."

Rylie awoke with a start. Sitting straight up in bed she looked around. She was breathing hard and was sweating. Where was she? Looking around she saw she was in a room she didn't recognize at first. Looking to her side she saw the sleeping blonde. That's right I'm at Caroline's, she thought. Slowly her breathing became slow.

These nightmares were starting to get really annoying. No matter where she was. This was haunting her. Taking a deep sigh she stood up and went to the bathroom. After washing her face she went back to Caroline's room. She was awake now. Looking at the clock it showed it was 3:38am in neon green. She rolled her eyes. She wanted one night of sleep where waking up wasn't an option. Crawling back into bed she was hoping that sleep would find her again. But she kept tossing and turning to get comfortable. She had only been asleep almost two hours. It was less then she gotten a few nights, and more the others. She was mentally drained. She just wanted to sleep. Why was that so hard?

After tossing and turning for about an hour she felt Caroline stir. Looking over at her new found friend she saw the young blonde's eyes start to shudder open.

"Stop moving Ry, I'm tired." She mumbled.

"Sorry Caroline. I can't sleep." The young blond leaned on her elbow and looked at the older girl.

"What's wrong?" she asked yawning.

"Nothing, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." Rylie said putting her head down and turning her back to Caroline. She heard Caroline sigh from behind her but didn't move. She laid there with her eyes open watching the clock creep closer to sunrise.

With all this time she had to try to fall back to sleep, it left her with the memories she was trying to run away from. It also left her with the memories for growing up in Pennsylvania. She was given up for adoption when she was first born. Her adoptive family got her a week later. Her parents Mike and Stephanie Carter were amazing. They never kept it a secret that she was adopted. They loved her as their own flesh and blood. She never had the urge to find her real parents. They weren't worth her time, as she wasn't worth theirs.

The Carter's were the best parents she could have asked for. They let her join any sport she wanted. If she wanted to try the piano they let her. She wanted to take singing lessons, she got to. Singing was her outlet. Her first lesson her instructor told her parents that she was a natural. She was right. Rylie landed every solo, every musical lead from middle school through high school. She wanted to go to NYU for theater. But that changed when her parents died young. Her father was in the military and was killed on deployment when she was 14 years old. Her mother died right after high school graduation from cancer.

Sighing at the thought of her parents she looked at the clock. 8:14 Am. Where did the time go? She got up and went through the clothes that Caroline so generously gave her. Finding a cute blue shirt and a pair of jeans she went to the bathroom to change. When she exited and went to Caroline's room she saw it was empty. Turning around she went into the kitchen. She saw the teen sitting at the table with an older lady. Rylie assumed was Caroline's mom. When the young girl saw Rylie she sat up and smiled.

"Hey Rylie this is my mom Liz." Caroline said. Liz turned around and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Sheriff." Rylie said offering her hand, the older blonde took it.

"At home it's Liz. Nice to meet you too. My daughter told me you will be staying with the Salvatore's. You are more than welcome to take our guest room if you feel more comfortable."

"Thanks for the offer. I will keep that in mind. But I think I will be alright at the Boarding House."

"Offer stands if you need it." The Sheriff said as she stood up. "I'm off to work, if you girls need anything let me know." Both girls nodded and Liz left the house.

"There's coffee ready. I was thinking of getting a suitcase or two for all those clothes." Caroline said as Rylie was making up her coffee. Rylie hummed her ok as she took a sip of her hot drink. "Did you finally fall back to sleep last night?"

"No, I think I will get a better night sleep tonight."

"My mom has sleeping pills; I can sneak one away to you. She barley uses them. The woman is a workaholic."

"No, thanks. I don't like pills or medicine or anything. I'll be fine." Rylie said taking a long pull of her coffee. The coffee felt good. But it wasn't waking her up like she wanted it to.

"Want to talk about the dream last night that got you all hyped? I felt you shoot up in bed." Rylie stopped the mug half way down from her mouth. But shook her head.

"I can't even remember it now. It happened to fast to remember." She lied. She remembered that room. She remembered that man. She just wished she could see the face. She had a feeling she knew who it was. But she wouldn't admit it to herself. She was trying to forget the man. "So what's on the agenda for the day?" She asked Caroline just to change the subject. The young girl sighed.

"Well, we got to get you packed and ready to go to the Boarding House. We have to pick you a room there too. But I was thinking of brunch at the Grill so you can meet some of the people in town." Rylie looked down. She didn't want to make friends. What if she had to leave in a hurry? The thought of that made her a little upset. Even though she just met Caroline she liked her. There was something about her that she liked. "You alright over there? You're a little quiet."

"Yeah I'm fine. How do you think Damon is going to react when he sees me at the Boarding House?" She asked still looking down. She was nervous that the older brother would kick her out.

"Well, he probably won't be too happy about it. But Stefan said it was fine. So don't worry too much about it. And if there is a problem, you are more than welcome to stay here." Caroline said while standing up. "But in the meantime, we have a whole bunch of clothes to pack up and bring with us. Bring your coffee." Caroline put her own mug in the sink and left the room with Rylie right behind her.

The young blonde knew there was something wrong with Rylie, she just couldn't pin point it. The dream she had last night kept her up all night she knew it. She also knew she was awake most of the night by her breathing. But she kept her mouth shut. She was hoping if she kept her mouth shut and asked the right question every so often then the older blonde would open up to her. She liked Rylie. She reminded her of her own self before she was turned into a vampire. Rylie was self-conscience and scared. Caroline was hoping that making some friends would help with that. Walking into her own room she grabbed her two suitcases out from under her bed. Plopping them on top she opened them just at Rylie was coming in. She watched her from the corner of her eyes as the older girl put her coffee mug on the night stand.

"Here, you take this one and I will take this one." Caroline said. She shoved the smaller of the suitcases to Rylie and started folding the clothes that were piled on her desk chair. Rylie followed suit. They were working in silence. Caroline noticed it was a comfortable silence. She liked having her here. It felt normal. "So where did you grow up?" She asked folding another shirt.

"Um, Allentown Pennsylvania."

"What are your parents like?" She saw Rylie bring the corner of her lips up into a small smile.

"They were amazing. Love me, adored me."

"Were?"

"Yeah, my dad was in the service. He was shot while he was deployed. And mom passed after I graduated high school from cancer."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my dad last year. He got…sick." The teen said.

"I know how rough it is." Rylie said not looking at the other girl. She knew all too well. She missed her dad. She was a big daddy's girl growing up. When she lost him she felt like her whole world crashed in. It was even worse when her mom died. She stayed in the house she grew up in. Her parents left to her in their will. But that house has since been sold and she hasn't seen it for 5 years.

"I'm finished over here. I can't get any more in here." Caroline announced zippering up the bag.

"I am too." Rylie smiled.

"Then let's get these into my car and get us to the grill. Matt's working and I think Jeremy might be too. They are great."

"I met Matt yesterday. He was my waiter."

"He's a great friend. Come on lets go see who's there." She said leaving the room with the packed bag. Rylie sighed and grabbed the bag she worked on and left.

The ride to the Grill wasn't long. The town really was small. They drove in silence. Rylie looked at the younger girl and saw she was in a good mood. The silence was deafening. She wasn't used to someone being so kind to her in so long.

"What kind of ring is that?"

"Lapis Lazuli." She said looking at it.

"Can I see?" Caroline looked at her and then the ring.

"I don't take it off for anyone. But I can get you one similar if you want."

"Caroline, you gave me enough. I couldn't ask you for anything else." Rylie said looking out the passenger window.

"Trust me; getting a ring like this isn't that hard."

"Don't worry about it." Rylie said as Caroline parked the car. She opened it and started for the restaurant. Caroline right behind her. The girl had been too nice to her for the last 24 hours. She really couldn't ask her to make something else happen. Walking in, she smelt breakfast. She really could go for a stack of pancakes. As she was looking around she bumped into a tall figure. Looking up she saw it was the older Salvatore.

"Well, isn't it the newest housemate. I thought I told you we aren't taking tenants." The blue eyed guy said.

"Stefan did me a favor. So don't get mad at Rylie." Caroline said coming in behind Rylie. Damon didn't look away from the older blonde.

"Why does everyone go behind my back?" he said.

"I heard you're a dick. Maybe that's the issue." Rylie said with more confidence then she thought she had. Damon lifted his eyes in surprise that she would say such a thing.

"I am a dick." He said and then leaned down, "You might want to watch out for me." Rylie was pulled back and Caroline took her spot.

"And you might want to look out for me." She said crossing her arms.

"I'm older than you, which means I'm stronger than you Barbie."

"And I'm angrier. So back off Damon." Caroline added. She took the older girls arm and dragged her into the Grill and to a table. "Sorry about Damon. He's a total dick."

"I see that. Maybe I should look for an apartment or something."

"No. Do not give him that. You live there. And you are not getting an apartment. You will live with me if it came to it. Now let's get food and then get you moved into the Boarding house." Rylie nodded and then looked around. She saw Damon at the bar glaring at her. When her eyes landed on him, he smirked and lifted his glass to her. He is so cocky, she thought.

"Look who it is." The voice behind her said breaking the glare she had with Damon. Rylie turned and saw the young male who waited on her last night.

"Matt, hey." She said and smiled.

"I see you're making friends. Having breakfast with Caroline." Rylie looked at her new friend and saw she was smiling.

"Yeah, Caroline is great." She said. The younger girl looked over and gave her a warm smile. "Some people aren't happy with me being in town." She said peeking over at the bar again. When she looked back at Matt she saw he was looking at the bar too.

"Why am I not surprised? But what does he have to do with anything?" Matt asked confused.

"I'm going to be staying at the Boarding House. Mister dark and dicky isn't happy about it." Rylie said, Matt and Caroline snorted at that.

"Stefan said it was cool. Damon didn't." Caroline added. Matt made a face in understanding. "We are going to eat and then go to the house." Matt took their orders and left to put it in. Rylie went into her backpack and got her must do list out from the day before. Looking it over, she could cross a whole bunch out already. She got clothes, a place to stay and food. But she needed a phone and a job. "What you got there?" Caroline said looking over the table.

"Uh, just things I need to do. Like find a place to stay, check, get clothes, thanks to my new friend, check. But I still need a job and a phone."

"Well, there is a phone place on the way to the Boarding House. We can stop there if you want. Their contracts are good priced." Rylie shook her head.

"I rather pre-paid. I don't need a contract." Rylie said sipping her water. Caroline looked at her with questions but didn't push. She knew the older girl was hiding something. She looked over a Damon and gave him a questioning look. He shrugged and turned around.

"Whatever you want." Matt returned with their breakfast and coffees. They ate in silence. Caroline was worried for her friend. No car, no phone contract, traveling with no clothes. What was this girl running from? She made a mental note to talk to Stefan about it. Maybe he can find something out. After all he did all the digging to find out Elena was adopted.

After breakfast the girls went to the store to get Rylie a phone. Within minutes they had a phone and were out of there.

"Tell me more about yourself." Caroline said driving to the Boarding House. Rylie looked at her with worry etched on her face. "Well, I know your parents are gone. You are traveling by foot. Tell me about school. What were you like growing up?"

Rylie sat there thinking about what to say. For the last 5 years it was always lie after lie. She felt like she could tell Caroline. But it put her at risk to know what was going on as well. She couldn't risk the teen's safety. She could tell her about high school though. There wasn't any harm in that. But what would she tell her? The singing or the cheerleading?

"Well, um, I sing. I did that from elementary to high school." Rylie said without looking at Caroline. "And I was a cheerleader."

"Get the hell out of here!" the younger exclaimed. Rylie looked at Caroline confused. "I sing and I'm the head cheerleader at school. You have to come to the football game this weekend and watch me. We are much better than the team."

"Isn't that always the case? I mean my squad was better than the team too. And I was head cheerleader too." Caroline looked over dumbfounded.

"What are the odds?" the blonde whispered. "That really is crazy."

It was weird that both girls had so much in common. She probably doesn't have the same past as you Rylie, she thought to herself. They turned into a long driveway and parked near the front door. She saw a small red sports car a few feet up. But what she really saw was the size of the house. Only the Salvatore's lived here?

"Here we are. Home sweet home." Caroline said with a smile. This wasn't home to Rylie. This was just a place to stay just in case she needed to run again. She hoped deep down she wouldn't have to leave. She didn't want to leave Caroline. With a sigh Rylie got out of the car and helped the teen get the bags from the trunk. Throwing her backpack on and rolling the suitcase, Caroline opened the door. "Stefan! Stefan, it's Caroline." She yelled into the house.

"Hey." The younger brother said coming from the long hallway. He looked at the newcomer. "Let me get that from you."

"Oh, it's fine. Just show me the room and I can bring it up." Rylie said with a soft smile.

"It's the way of the Boarding House. And I'm old fashion." He took the suitcase from Caroline and went to take the bag off of Rylie's back. She jumped back a little. In there were her papers she needed. Her social security card, license, adoptive birth certificate. She kept them even closer than her clothes. If she didn't have her backpack they were in her pocket or some small pocketbook. "Sorry, I'll just take the suitcase then. Follow me." Stefan gave Caroline a weird look. Rylie expected that. She knew taking the step to not let anyone touch her bag was awkward. "I'm going to give you a room near my room. Mine's on the third floor, so yours will be at the bottom of the stairs if you need anything at all." Rylie nodded her response.

Opening up the door she saw this huge room. It was much bigger than her childhood room. It could hold 10 people in here to sleep comfortably. There was a big king size bed in the middle of the wall. It was all bright and open. She had big windows on one side a bathroom on the other. She saw that there were fresh sheets recently put on the bed. She went over and brushed her hand across it.

"Elena picked out the sheets. I hope they're ok." Stefan explained. Rylie hummed that it was. "The bathroom is though this door and the door over here is your walk in." Rylie looked at Stefan in disbelief. She never had a walk in closet. Walking over she opened it up. It was huge.

"Thanks, this is great."

"I also got you some shampoo and soap. They are already in the bathroom."

"You went all out. Thanks I really do appreciate this." Stefan smiled and gave a short nod.

"I'll help you unpack. I just need to talk to Stefan. Will you be ok?" Caroline asked.

"I'm 23 years old; I think I can handle the unpacking process. Go. I will be just fine." Rylie said smiling. Caroline gave a small smile and nodded to Stefan to follow her out. The two teens went down to the parlor where they knew they were out of hearing range.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked folding his arms.

"She's jumpy right? You didn't just imagine that. She takes the backpack with her everywhere like someone is going to steal it. We went to the phone store up the road, she wanted a pre-paid. Stefan, she's running from something."

"I don't think there is much we can do. Except just be there for her if she needs us. I'll keep an eye on her here."

"You're going to have to. Your brother isn't very happy with her staying here."

"Damon won't do anything. He hasn't fed of a human is months."

"I'm not worried about him feeding off her. He's going to make her life a living hell until she leaves. He doesn't want her in Mystic Falls."

"You really like this girl don't you?"

"There is something about her." Caroline said softly hugging herself. "I know you were the one that found out that Elena was adopted. I was thinking maybe you can snoop into Rylie's past."

"Do you know her last name?"

"No, but I knew she grew up in Pennsylvania. Allentown, I think. She was head cheerleader in school. She's a singer too."

"That's it?" Stefan asked raising his eyebrows. "You knew more about me my first day at Mystic Falls High within two periods. But that's all you got on her in a day?"

"She won't answer my questions. What do you want me to do, compel her? No, I won't." she said shaking her head.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do but try to get more out of her. Anything you can get will help me."

"Thanks, Stefan." Caroline said. She smiled at the older vampire and went back upstairs. She knocked on Rylie's door. But there was no answer. Knocking again while opening the door she saw the older blonde sleeping on the bed. Smiling she closed the door and left her to rest. Caroline walked down the stairs and saw Stefan reading a book in the parlor. He looked up when he saw her. "She's sleeping. I'm gonna head back home. I will text you with her number. Tell her I will see her later." The young brother nodded his head and Caroline left the Boarding House.


	3. Chapter 3

Rylie awoke slowly. She looked around as her eyes fluttered open. After twenty seconds she realized where she was. She sat up in the king size bed and looked out the window. Wow was is already night time? She thought. She flung her legs over the side of the bed and walked uneasily to the bathroom. She took a washcloth and washed her face. The warmth of the cloth felt great on her. Sleeping in that bed felt even better. Rylie was still in shock that she had slept as long as she did. She never slept like that. Not since high school at least. Not when she didn't have to look over her shoulder at every corner.

Taking the washcloth off her face she went back into the bathroom and grabbed her backpack. Unzipping the front she searched for her new cell phone. Finally finding it at the bottom she scooped it out and saw not only was it past 7PM but she had two missed phone calls from Caroline and few text messages too. Caroline insisted she get the unlimited text messages on her phone. Rylie told her that was more than she wanted to spend. But Caroline told her living here it was the easiest way to get out of something. When Caroline started to offer that she would pay for it Rylie gave in and got it.

The first few texts were asking if she was up yet, the last one said 'disregard all the texts and calls, I called Stefan he said you were still sleeping. So call me when you are awake and we can do dinner.' Rylie smiled. She wanted to go to dinner but she wanted to explore this huge house she will be calling 'home' for as long as it needed to be. She grabbed a hair tie and threw her blonde hair into a low ponytail and walked out the door. To the left were the stairs to Stefan's room. She thought about asking him for a tour but went against it. She wanted to see it herself. Walking down the hallway she saw open doors on either side. Walking past and looking in she saw they were all bedrooms for other boarders. Turning around she went down to the first floor. Making a left she saw another door and it was open looking in she saw a huge bedroom. Much bigger than the rooms upstairs. She saw a huge bed in the center, with big floor to ceiling windows. It had dark wood going all the way around the wall, the bed post were a little lighter. The sheets were a silky white. Walking in she saw that there was a fireplace on the other side if the room across from the bed. On the fourth wall there was a large bathroom with no door. It had the same dark wood on the vanity as the bedroom had. It was an amazing room. Looking around the bedroom again she saw that it was lived in. Her eyes went wide and the realization came that she was in Damon's room. She hurried out not touching anything. She past the stairway and made a right at them. She noticed the area. It was the hallway Stefan brought her down on the way to her room. She was in the main hallway of the house. Seeing the front door she turned and saw the living area. Rylie walked down the two small stairs and did a circle as she looked up. Where they serious? It was the largest ceiling she had ever seen. There was another fireplace at the far end with bunch of couches. She ran her hand over the top of them as she walked by. On the east side she saw the dining room and from where she was standing she was looking threw to the kitchen. On the west side there was a door. The blonde headed to the door and saw that it was a study. She walked in and saw another fireplace. How many fireplaces did one house need? She thought. She took in the walls and walls of books. She could get used to crawling on the couch in front of the fire and snuggle up to read a book. She gently touched the book binds as she passed them. She saw some of the classics and smiled at them. She hadn't read a good book in a very long while. She saw a book on her must read list she had in high school but never read it. She took it down and stared at the cover. She traced the cover with her fingers. She put the book in the crook of her arm. She was going to ask if she can read it. Leaving the study she passed the kitchen and took a peek in. It looked like any normal kitchen except bigger in every aspect of the word. On her way down the main hallway she saw a door as she passed it. Turning around she went to open it.

"Going somewhere?" she heard from behind her. Rylie screamed and jumped back holding her hands over her face. "Whoa, it's just Damon." Rylie put her hands down and looked at him. Taking the book she hit him with it.

"Don't do that!" she said hitting him with it at each word. He backed up with every hit.

"Stop hitting me." he said taking the book from her. "Gone with the wind?"

"Yeah, I never read it. I was going to see if it would be alright if I borrowed it." Rylie said rubbing her arm with the other.

"You live her now, read what you want. But do not go down there. The stairs are shot and any weight can cause them to break." Rylie looked at the raven head and then to the door. She looked back at Damon and then nodded.

"I'm going to go back to my room. Thanks for the book." She said holding it up. She walked around Damon and went for the stairs. At the top she turned for her room and passed the stairs for Stefan's room. Shrugging she went up and knocked.

"Come in." she heard from the other side. Opening the door slightly she poked her head in. "Hey Rylie. You're awake." Stefan said with a small smile.

"Yeah, I went exploring. Damon let me borrow a book." She said holding up the book.

"Did you need something?" Rylie leaned on the door frame and looked around. The place was a mess. Piles of books all over the place. Tables around the whole room. She shook her head.

"No, just wanted to tell you I heard from Caroline. And I wanted to see your room since I saw your brothers." At this Stefan raised his eyebrows. She saw the expression and gave a small shy smile. "He didn't know, I thought it was another room for boarders." Stefan softens and gave a short nod. "Can I ask you something?" Stefan stood from his desk and nodded his head. "Why don't you allow boarders here anymore?" the younger brother looked to be thinking about this.

"Because we don't want annoying new comers staying in town." She heard from behind her. This again, made her jump. Turning around she saw two blue orbs looking down into her hazel ones.

"Can you give me some notice that you're coming up from behind me? That is the second time within fifteen minutes that you did that to me."

"You are so jumpy." Rylie looked at him and shook her head. Turning back to Stefan she gave him a smile and walked around Damon. But Damon stood in her way. "No smile for me?"

"You don't want me here, I get it but I can't really go anywhere right now."

"Why is that? Why Mystic Falls?" the older brother asked. She was getting sick of those questions.

"I needed to start over. A small town can do that for me." she said looking down.

"Hey Rylie, why don't you go with me to Elena's for dinner?" she heard the younger say. Turning around she shook her head.

"I'm going out with Caroline for dinner."

"At the Grill again?" she shrugged. She wasn't sure. They hadn't made the plans yet. But she wanted to see her. "I can ask Elena if you two can come to her house for dinner. Caroline and Elena are best friends. I'm sure she won't mind." Rylie nodded her head. She really didn't want to get close to anyone else in this town. She already made good friends with the younger blonde she didn't want to make friends with anyone else. Stefan and Damon were her 'landlords' in all things considered. "It's set then. Go get dressed I will call the girls." Stefan said with a smile. Nodding, Rylie walked around the older brother and went back to her room.

Rylie opened her backpack and found the picture of her mother again. Missing her more and more every day. Her mom even though she was her adoptive mother looked like her. She had long blonde hair and brown eyes. Her father on the other hand was Irish; he had the red hair and green eyes. When people met the family for the first time everyone that her father was her stepdad. Rylie traced the photo with her thumb. Her mom was her rock. They were inseparable even when Stephanie Carter was on her death bed. After she died Rylie's life went downhill. Thus why she was in middle of nowhere Virginia. This was the last place she wanted to be. But it was the safest place for now.

"I miss you so much mom." She whispered before putting the picture away. The blonde walked into the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans a shirt and a pocketbook. After getting dressed she threw her wallet, paperwork and phone into the bag. Glancing at the mirror she wished she had some makeup. He eyes were sunk in and she was pale. She shrugged it off and went to find the younger brother. She first tried his bedroom and after calling his name into the open door with no response she went down the stairs. Looking to the left she saw Damon's door was closed. She swung around to the main hallway.

"Stefan?" She said when she walked to the front door. The fire in the fireplace was going and it felt warm even from where she was standing. "Stefan?" She said again.

"Hey." She heard from behind her. The younger brother was coming from the basement. Didn't Damon say not to go down there? "Something wrong?" he asked. He saw the confusion on her face. Shaking her head she answered.

"Uh, no. I'm ready whenever you are."

"I'm ready. Let's go." She turned to go and he put his hand on her lower back out the door. She stiffened up when his hand made contact with her. She was heading towards the street when she heard him call her. "Where are you going?"

"Aren't we walking?" she asked.

"Why would we walk? I have a car." She blushed a little at the thought. If Caroline drove why wouldn't he? She thought to herself. Stefan opened the passenger door to the tiny red sports car and gestured for her to get in. She stepped in and he shut the door. After Stefan was settled they made their way towards Elena's. "So Caroline said you're from Pennsylvania?"

"Yeah. I grew up there."

"Are your parents still there?" Rylie shook her head and looked down at her hands. Talking about them still had an effect on her sometimes.

"No, my parents died. Dad's been gone about 10 years and mom 5."

"Sorry. I know what it's like. I lost my parents too. So did Elena, if you need to talk about it you can talk us." She turned towards him and gave him a half smile. After her mom died all her friends from high school offered the same support. They didn't know what it was like. They all had their parents. If they were divorced, separated or still together, they all still had their parents. "You know I never did catch your last name."

"Carter."

"What did your parents do?" he asked.

"Dad was in the service. Mom was a stay at home mom." Stefan was now seeing what Caroline meant when she said her answers were vague.

"The service huh? The must have been rough for you and your mom."

"A little. He was killed while on deployment."

"And your mom?"

"Cancer."

"That sucks. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He saw the girl nod her head. She seemed nervous being around him. Maybe because she didn't know him. The vampire couldn't place what was going on. But now he had more information on her then Caroline did. Dad was a military man and died 10 years ago while working. Mom died of cancer 5 years ago. Both he assumed were buried in Pennsylvania.

They pulled up to the two story white house. Stefan got out and ran around the front to open the door from Rylie.

"Thank you." She mumbled.

"You're welcome." He smiled.

The two walked up the walkway and up the stairs. Stefan knocked on the door and a few moments later Elena opened the door.

"Hey guys. Come in. Dinner is almost done." She said smiling.

"You mean we're almost done unwrapping the plates from the restaurant." A voice from the kitchen said. Elena led the way with Stefan and Rylie following her. Walking into the kitchen they were greeted by Caroline and another girl. "Rylie this is my friend Bonnie."

"Hi." The older blonde said. Bonnie came around and offered her hand which Rylie accepted.

"Nice to meet the famous Rylie that Caroline won't be quiet about." Rylie gave a half smile and looked at the younger blonde.

"I just told them that I liked you. And that your cool." The young vampire said shrugging. "But I hope you like Italian. Because that's what we ordered."

"Sounds great." Rylie said.

Soon after the 4 teens and Rylie sat down at the dinner table. They were silent for a long while. The sounds of silverware hitting plates were the only noise heard in the house. Rylie wondered if it would have been this awkward if she wasn't around. These people must have known each other for their whole lives. And in comes a nobody from Pennsylvania who knew nothing about them and they knew nothing about her.

"So Rylie, Caroline says you're from Pennsylvania?" She heard Bonnie say. Nodding her head as she finished chewing.

"Yeah, I'm from Allentown."

"What's it like?"

"Depends on what part you're from. I lived near I-22 so it was noisy at night. But it wasn't bad."

"Is there where you lived your whole life?"

"Yeah, I was raised there."

"Why did you leave?" She heard the brunette say. Rylie put her fork down and started to play with her hands under the table.

"Uh, just really needed a new start."

"And you thought Mystic Falls is where your new start is?"

"Yeah, something just pulled me here I guess. And I was sick of the city I guess."

"City?" Caroline asked.

"Allentown is a big town. We had tourist there every summer for the amusement and water parks. It got kinda busy depending if you were downtown. Small town life seems interesting." She looked down at her food. "Elena, where's the bathroom?"

"Upstairs, second door on the left." Rylie nodded her thanks and left the table. Once she was in the bathroom she felt like she could breathe again. She knew that questions were going to be asked. She just had to figure out how to answer them when she came to them. She also didn't want to be center of attention. She knew that was impossible since she was the new girl in town. The mysterious new girl in town. After washing her face she opened the door and bumped into someone.

"Sorry." She said looking up. She saw a teenaged kid standing there. He had shaggy brown hair and eyes. And he was built.

"Sorry." He gave her a smile and then nodded. "I'm Jeremy, Elena's little brother." He said.

"Rylie. I'm living with the Salvatore brothers."

"Are you a childhood friend or someone?" he asked crossing his arms.

"No, I, um just got to town yesterday. Caroline helped me to get them to say it was ok." She said rubbing her neck. She heard the noises of plates being moved around downstairs. "I better get down there before they think I fell in." The teen snorted and Rylie found her way down the kitchen again.

When she entered she saw that the 4 teens had already cleaned up the dishes. It looked like they were setting up for dessert already. She was so stuffed. She hadn't eaten like this in weeks. She thought her body was going into shock. But when she looked over at the girls she saw they had chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream. Rylie felt her mouthwatering.

"We have wine too." she heard behind her. She jumped out of her skin and turned around. She saw Stefan behind her. The blonde put her hands over her heart. And took a deep breath. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The green eyed boy said with his hands up.

"It's fine. And wine sounds great." She started to turn around and then went back with her eyes furrowed. She pointed a finger at Stefan. "Aren't all of you too young to be drinking?"

"No one in this town cares."

"Well, not a lot for you. I would like to get home in one piece." She said with a smirk. She turned on her heel and went into the kitchen.

The other girls were all laughing a joking with each other. Rylie could see that they had been friends for their whole lives. She understood that friendship. Her best friend in the entire world was back home. Sarah and Rylie were inseparable from first grade on. They joined dance classes together, sung together, at one point they dated brothers at the same time. They went to the same high school together. Summers sucked. Rylie was forced to follow her father with her mother. As soon as school was about to start up again the Carter girls went back home and waited for Mike Carter to come home on leave.

After graduation Rylie kept in touch with Sarah. Sarah had gone to NYU for dance. Rylie was supposed to. But her mother was more important. Soon the best friends became friends, and then acquaintances, and finally strangers. Rylie knew her friend had gotten married after college and moved back to Allentown. It didn't shock her that she wasn't asked to be in the bridal party. It did surprise her that she didn't get an invitation. As kids the girls said they would be each other's maid of honors. Now Rylie didn't know what was going on with Sarah. Rylie knew the reason why she wasn't friends with Sarah. It was the same reason she was in Mystic Falls.

"You ok?" she heard from the girls. Shaking her head from her memories of Sarah she looked up and saw the 3 friends.

"Yeah. I was just thinking of my best friend growing up. You guy reminds me of her."

"Oh yeah? What is she like?" the witch asked.

"Well, growing up we did everything together. Join the same teams, classes, sports, lessons. Her dad was in the service too. Only he was always home. He was a recruiter. Mine wasn't. Every summer I would go to where he was station. And for the school year I would stay in Allentown. Sarah would stay home over the summers." Rylie took a wine glass and the bottle and poured herself a glass. She saw Stefan from the corner of her eye come into the kitchen as she took a pull.

"I bet you are the same way even now." Caroline said. Rylie shook her head.

"She went off to college right after graduation. I stayed home. Mom died right after. We grew apart. I haven't seen her since high school." She said taking another drink. She felt comfortable talking about Sarah. It was one subject where it felt normal.

"Sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to grew apart from someone. But you never know, you might get together in the future." Stefan said from the side. "My brother and I did. We don't like each other most of the time. But we get along because we have to."

"It's different, you two are family. She isn't." Rylie retorted. Turning her attention back to the girls she felt the effect of the wine. She hadn't drank in a long while. She was never allowed to. "How long have you guys known each other?"

"Since the day we were born." Elena said smiling. "Caroline and my family are part of the founding families. And Bonnie's family came from Salem like 150 years ago. So our parents all knew each other and we all grew up together."

"So your families founded Mystic Falls?" Rylie asked interested.

"Yeah, it was the Gilbert's," Caroline said pointing to Elena. "The Salvatore's, Lockwood's, Forbes', and the Fell's." she continues pointing to all the members of the founding families in the room.

"So I'm in a room with royalty?" Rylie joked.

"Just call my Princess Caroline." The young blonde said standing a little straighter. The rest of the girls laughed.

For the next hour the girls and Stefan sat at the island in the kitchen laughing and joking. Rylie felt normal for the first time in years. She hadn't laughed and smiled this much since senior year. After seeing Stefan eye the time she looked at him and nodded. She understood that he wanted to get home. He must have been tired. The teen didn't drink like she asked. But she had a little too much. Getting off the stool she slipped a little. Stefan was in reach and helped her. She gave him a smile in thanks.

"Well, since Rylie is drunk I'm gonna bring her home. Good night Bonnie, Caroline." He leaned down to his girlfriend and gave her a kiss goodnight. "I will talk to you tomorrow."

"Good night Rylie." She heard the girls say.

"Good night. Thanks Elena for a WONDERFUL time." The blonde said. She heard the giggles of her new found friends as Stefan put his arm around her waist and helped her walk to the car. Stefan opened the door and sat her down. She put her belt on as he closed the door. After getting in himself he started the car and they drove off.

Rylie leaned her head back and turned towards Stefan. He looked nothing like his older brother. Stefan had lighter hair and green eyes. Damon had black hair and piercing blue eyes. Stefan must have sensed that Rylie was looking at him and he glanced at her.

"You feeling alright over there?" he asked looking back at the road.

"Great. I was trying to find something where you and Damon look alike. I mean I met Jeremy tonight and he has brown hair like his sister. They look alike. But you and Damon? Not so much."

"That could be a good thing. Why didn't your parents have any more kids?" Rylie rolled her head to look out the window. She wasn't expecting him to bring her parents back up.

"They could never have any." She said softly.

"They had you."

"No, they adopted me. They tried for years to get pregnant. For whatever reason she couldn't. So there I was a week after I was born, living with Mike and Stephanie Carter. Being raised by a military man and his wife." Stefan looked at the blonde. Why did she sound so upset about it?

"Do you resent them for adopting you?"

"NO! I love my parents. I wish they were still alive." She whispered the last part. "Dad would have liked you." She said looking at the younger brother. And he looked at her with confusion. "You open doors for girls, make sure their drunken asses get home safe. You're a real gentleman."

"I was raised to be an old style gentleman. Hope that's alright." She nodded her head yes.

They pulled up to the Boarding House a few moments later. Again, Stefan opened up her car door and gave her his hand to step out. He helped her up the stairs of the Boarding House to her room. By then she was so tired she could barely make it up the last few steps. Stefan picked her up bridal style and laid her on the bed. He took off her sneakers and found a blanket in the closet. He covered the blonde and left the room for his own. With more details from Rylie, he was going to start the digging Caroline asked him to do. He just hoped he could find what she was running from.

**AN:: Sorry for such a long delay in updates. It's been a busy few weeks for me. Between work, and being a mom as well as many other things. **

**But here is Chapter 3. Hope you enjoy it. Leave some reviews for me to enjoy! Which I do all the time!**

**Also, like in my last story I asked if someone could make a cover for this story. I am horrible at being creative with that stuff. I see Rylie as Diana Agron. If you can do that for me I would be forever grateful. Just let me know in a PM or review. **

**So again, leave a review for the story. I don't know when my next update will be. **


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a few weeks since Rylie appeared in Mystic Falls. She started getting into a schedule. She finally found an off the books with the Grill. She was officially a waitress. The money was good. She put all her tip money and half her paycheck in a pocketbook Caroline let her have. The bag was now in the way back of her walk in closet in a hat box that was there already. Without having to pay for a place to stay, food and clothes she was saving more than she ever thought she would.

She was also making friends with Caroline's group. Caroline and Rylie had become inseparable. Rylie often visited Caroline at cheerleading practice. She missed it more and more watching the young friend do it. The younger blonde would visit her at work and purposely sit in her section just so they can gossip. They were becoming like sisters in Rylie's eyes.

Rylie was also getting comfortable about the Boarding House. She was still not comfortable with Damon. But Stefan proved to be a good friend thus far. Some nights they would stay up late and talk. He was a bright kid. They talked books, movies, sports, and writing. Rylie found out that Stefan kept a journal and he wrote in it almost every day. It was what first brought him and Elena together. Occasionally, he would ask the blonde something about her childhood. But it was a question here and there. Rylie wanted so bad to tell him everything. However, that would put him at risk as well if she needed to run.

The blonde was scared to get closer to anyone but Stefan and Caroline. Stefan was her housemate as well as her landlord. Caroline was her best friend in the town. She knew she could leave Stefan behind. But every day it was getting harder and harder to know she might have to one day leave the younger blonde.

It was a Wednesday morning and Rylie's alarm went off. Moaning as she rolled over to hit the evil machine off. Rylie had been getting better night sleeps, but the nightmares still occurred. Just not as frequently as the one she had when she first got there. The first couple nights at the Boarding House Rylie would wake up in cold sweats and panting. But as of the last week, the reoccurring nightmare happened only once.

Finally, sitting up in her bed after deciding if she should go to work or miss one day she decided to go. She needed the money. The night before she worked the late shift with Matt. She didn't get home until nearly 3am. A certain raven head didn't want to leave the bar. But now it was 8am and she had the morning breakfast shift. She would be working with the red head Amanda. She liked Amanda but the girl talked more than Caroline did. When Caroline talked it was fun and silly. Amanda on the other hand talked about everyone that walked through the door. What they were wearing, who they were dating, about car accidents they were in. Little things that Rylie didn't really care about. She just yes's her as she works. And on some occasions makes excuses up to leave the conversation.

Groaning at the thought of working with her she wished she hadn't decided to go in. The money was good and that's what kept her going. Getting out of bed she shuffled to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. After washing in the shower she got out and found her clean Mystic Grill blue t-shirt and a clean pair of jeans. Throwing on her outfit she fixed her hair up and got ready for the long shift at work. She had said she would cover Jeremy's lunch shift as well.

She walked down stairs and went into the barley used kitchen. She put coffee grinds and water in the coffee pot and waited for it to brew. In the meantime she went to the fridge and got out the makings for an omelet. Stefan showed her around the kitchen her first week there. Rylie was the only one who actually used the kitchen besides the once and a blue moon Salvatore brother going for a cup of coffee. Looking at the clock on the stove she still had 45 minutes before her shift. Crap, she thought to herself. It was a half hour walk from the house to the Grill. She scrambled her eggs instead and shoved them down her throat. She found the travel mug she bought a few days ago. It was a little gift she bought herself that she knew she would need for all the walking. Filling it up she ran out of the house.

The walk to the Grill every day was relaxing for the older girl. However, she was still sick of walking from all the walking it took to get her in this town. She wished she could buy a car. But that cost money and her safety. So on her way to work every day she had to walk, she thought about how life would be if she actually got to stay in Mystic Falls. She started to really feel like home here. The people were nice, and they all seemed to like her. Working at the most active place in town she got to meet most of the people that lived here. Some were the lifers that lived here since birth. Some were the ones who moved here to get away from city life and retire. And then there were the founding families. Caroline mentioned that she was part of that club. That when her mother died she would take over being the head of the Forbes founding family. Since Elena's parents died she had become the head of the Gilbert founding family. Rylie hoped that she could stop running and settle down here.

Half way through her walk she heard a car start to come up from behind her. She scooted closer to the shoulder to not get hit. However, the car stopped. Making her nervous she peered over her shoulder and saw that it was a little red sports car. One that she sees every day. She sighed in relief and turned fully around. Seeing Stefan behind the wheel she walked up the car as he leaned over and opened the passenger door.

"Why didn't you wake me? I would have brought you to work on my way to school." He said as she was climbing in.

"If you were anything like me in high school, I didn't think you would want to wake up earlier than you had to."

"I don't mind. You have your license right?" he asked. She looked at him and nodded.

"Then you can take my car if you ever need it. I know you can't afford a car right now. But you can borrow mine. We can make a schedule with Elena."

"I never know when I'm working mornings. And some nights I don't know when I'm going to be home."

"I heard you come in last night. You came home late." He said driving closer to town.

"Your brother stayed at the Grill with Mr. Saltzman until like 3am. Matt and I wanted to kill him. I told Damon that I had to be at work early the next day but he didn't care. Alaric tried to get him to leave too. But he didn't budge. I was lucky I got up this morning."

"Damon will be Damon. I'm sorry he kept you out late."

"I'm fine with it. I'm worried about Matt though. I know he has school and then practice today for the game on Friday. He was complaining about it last night when your brother wouldn't leave."

"I will keep an eye out on Matt today." He said as we pulled up to the Grill.

"Thanks for the lift. And I will think about the borrowing the car thing." She said as she was getting out. The younger brother nodded to that before he drove off.

Rylie entered the Grill and saw that some tables were already occupied by the early birds. It was only about 3 tables. Amanda was there taking orders. She saw that one table had just been seated and one had their food already. So the morning was going slow. Thank God, she thought. Walking into the back she put her stuff in her locker and grabbed her apron and order pad. She slipped her phone into her apron after turning it on vibrate.

"There you are." She heard from behind her. She saw the red head come into the back.

"I'm not late. I'm here a few minutes early actually." She said looking at her watch.

"Oh, I don't care if you're late. I just haven't worked with you in what feels like forever." Amanda said with a smile. It was only two days ago, thought Rylie as she fixed her ponytail. "Any new gossip from town?" the girl asked. Amanda was 21 and enrolled in the community college. But she rarely went to any classes. Or if she did she was a very part time student.

"None that I know about. I'm still new around here." Rylie said walking to the front of the restaurant.

"Well, I know you hang out with Caroline and Stefan. So I thought they would give you some gossip."

"Caroline and Stefan don't gossip. We just talk about books and movies really."

"That sounds boring." Amanda said slumping her shoulders. Rylie rolled her eyes and started to wipe down the bar.

"Are all the tables being helped?" she asked without looking up.

"Yeah, I got them. There isn't much going on for 9am. Just the old people trying to save a buck."

"What section do you want me to take if it's busy?" She asked.

"Well you had the higher numbers last time, why don't you take the lower today?" Rylie nodded her head. She knew what this meant, Amanda wanted the higher numbers because it was closer to the pool tables. Rylie was fine with that. That's where all the high school kids that skipped hung out. They left little to no tips. The lower was were the middle to older people stay because it was closer to the bar. This meant more tips for her.

"Did you see what Bonnie wore the other night here?" Rylie looked up. Wasn't Amanda aware that Bonnie was one of her friends? "She wore this ugly scarf that didn't match anything she was wearing. I mean at least make it go with your shoes or something." The red head said shaking her head.

"Not to be mean Amanda, but Bonnie is one of my friends. I don't like you talking about her."

"You're friends with Bonnie Bennett?"

"Yeah, I hang out with all of Caroline's friends."

"You don't hang out with Damon Salvatore. Yet you live with the guy."

"Do you hang out with Damon?" she retorted.

"I wish! The guy is a total hottie." Amanda said. Rylie had to agree. Damon was a gorgeous looking guy. But he hasn't been the nicest to her since she arrived. He would give her sarcastic remarks when he could or just completely ignore her in public and at home. "Why don't you hang out with him?"

"Why don't you?"

"He is so out of my league. Like he knows what he likes. I mean he dated a big news reporter Andie Star before she died." Rylie turned to look at the red head with furrow brows.

"She died?"

"Yeah. They don't know if it was suicide or murder. She died right on her set. It was really sad. Damon was depressed for a few weeks. Then out of nowhere he like bounced back." Rylie knew closed to nothing about the raven haired brother. In fact, she knew nothing of him. Besides that he was a sarcastic, egotistical, pompous dick. This made her understand him more. His girlfriend died and he was acting out.

"How long ago was this?" Rylie asked.

"Um, a few months ago, maybe a year already. Damon is part of a founding family. He hangs out with the mayor and the sheriff all the time. And every time there is an animal attack he rushes off to meet them, or they come running to him like someone is forcing them together." The red head said crossing her arms. "Still doesn't change the fact that he is a total babe."

"Animal attack? Is it safe to live here?"

"Mystic Falls is the safest place to live. We just have too many woods around us, and then animals come out sometimes. Don't worry about it Rylie. Plus, if your friends with the Salvatore brother's, Caroline and Bonnie you got nothing to worry about. They are good friends from what I can see. A little young for my taste of friends but hey that's just me."

Rylie rolled her eyes. She liked her friends, even if she was older than all of them. It didn't bother her. For once in the last 5 years she felt a good connection with the group. She just never wanted to leave them. Maybe she could convince Caroline to run with her if she had to. She could bring Tyler too. Tyler was a good guy. He seemed to treat his girlfriend well. She shook her head of those thoughts. She didn't want to think about her past finding her here. She didn't want to think of asking Caroline and Tyler to do such a thing. Looking back up she noticed Amanda had left to help one of her tables.

The bar was clean, so she went to get the broom for the floor on the bar. If she was working the lower numbers today, the best place to be was the bar. It was still early for any of the regular town alcoholics to come in. Such as Damon. But there were the regulars who rather eat at the bar than at a table. Rylie kept herself busy.

Around 11am it started to pick up a little. Not much where she was running everywhere and making drinks. Just enough to keep her on her toes. Amanda was just hanging out with the people her age that she must have known since high school. She saw many people trying to get her attention but she wasn't looking. Finally after about five minutes of watching these people get fed up Rylie took the table in Amanda's section.

"I'm sorry about Amanda. I'm Rylie, what can I help you with?"

"At least someone around her cares for the customers." The older gentleman said.

"Well, for the inconvenience of the other waitress I will take 15% off you bill. I hope that helps." The man smiled at her.

"Is there even your section honey?" he asked.

"No sir. But I saw you needed help." The man stood up.

"Bring me to you section and I will be happy to order with you." Rylie nodded and brought him to the bar.

"If you don't want to sit at the bar we will have to wait for an empty table." She said politely.

"This is fine. Thank you again for helping me." she nodded her head at him with a small smile. "I would love a burger and fries with a diet coke." He said.

"I will put it in." Going to the computer in the corner of the bar she plugged in the order and then went to make the diet soda. She gave the man the drink and accepted his thanks. She saw Amanda come up to the bar looking angry.

"Rylie." The waitress said. "Can I talk to you in the back quick?" she said. Rylie nodded her head and followed the red head.

"What the hell girl? Why did you take that table from me?"

"Are you serious? You're mad because you weren't doing your job? Amanda the guy was flagging you down for five minutes while you were talking to your friends. He's wearing a suit. You know what that means right? He has a job and it doesn't consist of saying at the Grill on his lunch hour. He has to get back sometime. Which means he has to eat within the hour too." Rylie was getting pissed that Amanda thought she could walk all over her because she was the new girl. Rylie had waitressed for a while before she ever came here. She wasn't going to let a 21 year old tell her how to do her job. Rylie was waitressing before Amanda even turned 16.

"I didn't see him." The girl said.

"That's the point. Caroline and my friends come here all the time to visit me. But I don't allow that to get in my way of making money. You should do that same if you want the tips to be better. Just the other day you complained that some guy left you a quarter. That same guy came in yesterday, and since I paid attention to him he tipped me almost ten bucks! So don't get angry with me because I took a table. He was getting pissed." Rylie said. She picked up the burger for the stolen customer and walked out of the back.

"Here you go sir. If you need anything else just call. I will be in this section." She smiled. Amanda came out and glared at her.

The two didn't talk to the rest of the day. Which could be a good thing. Rylie agreed to take on the lunch to dinner shift for Jeremy days ago. She wasn't looking forward to working until 8 since she was so tired, but it was extra money she needed. Amanda left at 4 when Chris the night manager came in. Chris was nothing like Amanda. He made it fun. As soon as he came in he went to the blonde.

"So I'm thinking of a new competition." He said to her. Rylie looked up and saw a 30 year old sandy brown hair with brown eyed man.

"A new one? I beat the crap out of you the last time we had one."

"Well, it's because you're prettier than me. Which isn't fair." Chris and Rylie made a bet who can get more tips. It wasn't hard for Rylie since she was working bar that night too. And on a Friday night nonetheless. "This time I think we should get who gets the most orders for mixed drinks."

"Chris you do realize that I am working bar tonight right?"

"But it's a Wednesday."

"Fine, what's the wages?" she asked putting her bar clothe down and crossing her arms.

"If you win, you get my tips. If I win, you go out to dinner with me this weekend." His tips? She could easy win this. Especially if Damon came to the Grill. Maybe Alaric? But then to have dinner with her night manager? That was little weird for her. She didn't like to date her coworkers. But she knew she could win this.

"Deal." She said putting her hand out. He took it and the shook on it. "Make good tips tonight. No slacking. I could use the money!" she said as he walked away.

While Chris cleaned up the dining area, Rylie cleaned the bar. The glasses, pitchers and shot glasses were all clean. The bar and taps were all shinny. The floor was swept and mopped. She even slipped on the wet floor once or twice. The bottle racks were dusted. And she even climbed up on the bar and watched the mirrors.

"What a view." She heard from behind her as she was getting off the bar with the bottle racks. She turned around and saw the famous raven haired blue eyed jerk she lived with.

"Just the housemate I wanted to see." He raised his brows up in question.

"Me? I know you and baby brother are all chummy. But me?"

"Well, you have the drinking problem." Damon smirked at this and gave a short laugh. Rylie leaned closed to the bar and looked around and then at Damon. He leaned in close too.

"What are we doing?"

"I need you to order a shit load of mixed drinks." Damon pulled back but she waved him to come back.

"You just said I had a drinking problem and you are enabling it?"

"Just for tonight. Come here." Damon leaned back down. "I have a bet with Chris. If I get more mixed drink orders than him he will give me all his tips from tonight."

"And if you lose?" he asked smirking.

"I have to go to dinner with him." The smirk slowly left his face. "Can you get Alaric down here too? I know you problem drinkers drink it two's."

"He is too tired. I asked him to come to happy hour with me. Something about being up late or something." He said as Rylie made him a screwdriver.

"Yeah I know the pain. I had an alcoholic here last night until almost 3am. And I had to work a double today." She said sliding him his drink.

"I didn't order a screwdriver." He said looking down at it and then back at Rylie.

"And I didn't order getting 4 hours of sleep and then work a 12 our shift. So you get what I give." She said with a smirk. She turned on the raven head and started helping other happy hour customers. She had a strategy of getting people to order something other than beer and wine. And so far it was working.

By 7PM she had over 10 drinks in. She was getting happier and happier as the time pasted. She kept refilling Damon's glass just as he would finish the last. He kept giving comments under his breath about how she was pushing him to become drunk. She rolled her eyes every time.

"Hey, when are you leaving?" She asked him as she cleaned the bar again.

"Kicking me out?"

"No, you're the best customer tonight."

"That's because you are making me drink." She smiled a goofy smile at him. "Why do you need to know when I'm leaving?"

"I was hoping I can get a ride home. I'm tired and I really don't want to walk home tonight. Thank god I had a lift home last night after that arrogant customer last night wouldn't leave."

"Did you ever think the arrogant customer had a reason for drinking?"

"At 3am on a Tuesday? The guy doesn't actually have a job besides be a founding family member." Damon snapped his head up when she said that. "What? I know you, the Gilbert's, Forbes', Lockwood's and the Fell's are all part of the founding families." She said looking at him with confused eyes.

"Anything else you know Rylie?"

"Should I?" she questioned him back. He shook his head.

"When do you get off?" he asked

"8, unless they need me to stay. I don't want to work a triple but I will if I need to."

"Rylie!" She heard from the door. Looking up she saw the young blonde. A smile formed on her lips when she saw Caroline bouncing to the bar. "The game this Friday you have to come." She said smiling. Then she looked at Damon and the smile left. "There is an AA meeting at the school tonight. You're late."

"Oh, I decided I didn't want to be a quitter. Nothing good comes from that." He smirked looking at both blondes. The younger rolled her eyes and Rylie shook her head.

"So what's up about the game this Friday?" Rylie said putting her attention back to Caroline.

"It's the biggest game of the year. We are playing against our arch rivals. And I want my best friend there to cheer me on."

"A cheerleader for the cheerleader." Damon smirked.

"Don't you have more drinking to do?" Caroline said. Rylie looked at his glass and perked right up.

"He does. This makes drink 11!" Rylie said loudly so Chris could hear her.

"You had 11 drinks?" the young vampire looked at the older. Damon shook his head. Rylie then explained the deal to her. After understanding Caroline started back on the game. "So you will be there right? In the school colors? Please!"

"Yeah sure, I get out around 4. So I should be able to get home and shower and then get to the school." Caroline eyes beamed with excitement. "Hey Care, can you drive me home tonight? I asked drunky over here but he's had about 5 drinks."

"That you forced on me." the raven said defending himself.

"I need the tips. And besides I was with Chris for 4 hours. No way he could beat me. I've been watching what he puts in the system. I'm winning." Rylie said and then went back to the green eyed girl. "Can you?"

"Sure. How long until you are free?"

"Half hour." Rylie said after looking at her watch.

"Sure, I'm gonna go play some pool with Tyler. Come get me when you're done." Caroline left Rylie behind the bar with Damon sitting in front of it. She gave him a quick smile and walked away to help another customer. She went to the corner and took out the cash she had in her apron from the day so far. She was doing really well with the tips today. She was well over the amount she thought she would make. Wishing they wouldn't need her the rest of the night, she still hoped. If people kept tipping this way, she could get a drink of her own and not feel guilty. She didn't mind working. But she was tired. Putting the money back in her apron she shuffled her phone out. After looking at it, she saw there were a few texts she had missed from Stefan and Matt.

_Why is Stefan following me around? Did you tell him we were out late?-Matt_

_Matt seems fine. He is tired. But nothing to worry about. I think he is catching on that I'm following him. See you at home.-Stefan_

The waitress smiled at the two guys. Funny how they wrote almost the same thing. Home? Stefan called it home. Which to her it started to feel like. Slowly.

"Um, Rylie?" she heard from behind her. The girl jumped and turned around. Chris was standing behind her. "You ok?"

"Yeah, fine. What's up?"

"It's the end of your shift. Want to count the mix drinks?" He said with a smile.

"Yeah. I bet you I won."

"We will have to see about that." The two employees went to the bar computer and started to tally Rylie's and Chris's mix drinks. "So far we're tied." Rylie was getting nervous. He wasn't putting his orders in threw the bar. He was doing it at the hostess station up front. She didn't see all these drinks. She thought she had it in the bag with Damon here. They were tied at 10. She knew she had 11. But was that good enough? She really didn't want to go on this date with him. She rather take the money and call it a night. "DAMN!" Chris yelled. Rylie jumped back and put her hands up in front of her face. It was a reaction she become custom to when she heard shouting. "You beat me by one!" he boss said. He didn't seem to realize her reaction to his scream. She played it off like he had scared her. But little did she know that not only did Caroline witness it but so did Damon.

Damon turned to see Caroline's shocked face as well. She looked at him with scared eyes. That was not normal on how she fell back that way. He looked down at the floor and then back at the older blonde taking his drink to his mouth. He played it off like he didn't see it. She heard the blonde vampire approach him and sit down next him farther away from Rylie.

"You saw that right?" she asked in a low voice. The raven haired looked down at her with the 'you're seriously asking me that question' look. But nodded.

"Yeah, he scared her."

"Damon, she jumped like she was going to get hit by Chris. Chris Turner wouldn't hurt a fly. Something is going on that she won't say."

"OK? What would you like me to do about it?"

"Talk to her? I don't know. I have been trying to reach out to her since she got here."

"You want me to talk to her? If she won't talk to you what makes you think she will talk to me?" Damon said drinking his screwdriver. He looked back over to the older blonde. He saw nervousness in her eyes. When she looked up and saw him starting she gave me a short smile. He smiled back and then looked at Caroline. "And if she is running from someone or something she won't talk about it."

"I'm gonna have to ask her what happened."

"And then she will close up on you all together Barbie. Let her come to you." Both vampires heard Rylie walking up to them. Looking up Damon could see that she was still shaken up from her reaction. But he didn't mention it. He could sense that the nosey younger vampire wanted to question it. However, she kept her mouth shut. "So did you win your bet?" he asked finishing off his drink.

"Yeah, did you want another one before I clock out?" Damon shook his head and stood up.

"I'm gonna head back to the house. I can drive you if you want." The blondes exchanged a look. Rylie never seen Damon actually offer his services before.

"If you're going home anyway, I don't want to put Caroline out." Rylie said playing with her hands. It was obvious to Damon and Caroline that something was bothering her but she didn't want to talk about it. Rylie knew staying with Damon she wouldn't be questioned.

"Are you working tomorrow?" Caroline asked.

"No, thank god. I need the day off. I'm exhausted."

"Alright, then after I'm out of school we will go shopping or go out to eat or something." Rylie nodded her head. She left the two vampires alone and went to get her stuff from the back. When she returned she saw they were having some sort of disagreement. "I'm ready." She said walking up to them. She said good night to Caroline, her boss and Tyler and then followed Damon out to his blue Camaro. Unlike his brother he didn't open the door for her. He went to the driver's seat. She didn't get in right away. Damon rolled the window down.

"Something wrong?"

"You're drunk. Slid over I'll drive. I promise not to scratch your car."

"You are not driving my car."

"Then I will walk home. And you can get into a car accident. Then when you are in the hospital I can tell you I told you so." Damon smirked at this like there was some hidden joke to what she just said.

"I doubt I will get into a car accident. I drove home fine last night. Get in Rylie." Against her better judgment she did. She didn't want to put Caroline out by having her drive in the opposite direction of her house just so Rylie could get home. And after working a double on little sleep she really didn't want to walk.

"You kill us, I kill you as a ghost." She said putting her belt on.

"I'm not going to kill you." He mumbled over to her.

Rylie looked out the window of the Camaro. She couldn't believe that she spent all day working. It was so nice and sunny when she left the Boarding House this morning. And now 13 hours later is was so dark. She was looking forward to the day off tomorrow so she could spend some time in the sun. Of course after she slept all morning. Thinking of sleeping Rylie yawned. She really didn't know how tired she was until she started thinking of it.

On the way home she started to think about what happened with Chris. She was glad that no one saw her reaction. After being away from her past for over a month she thought she was getting better. Well, she wasn't around anyone that actually yelled. And if she was it wasn't the way that Chris did it. He did it loud and out of nowhere. The only other people she has been around that yelled are her friends that were yelling out of fun. She knew she had to put today's incident behind her. She had to move forward and get rid of that scared feeling she has.

Damon pulled into the driveway and Rylie was surprised that they made it home in one piece. She opened her door and walked into the house. She saw Stefan sitting in the living room with Elena. They were cuddled up on the couch near the fire. She waved to them but didn't stop walking. She knew if she went to sit and visit with her friends she wouldn't stay awake. Keep moving Ry until you can lay down, she thought. She made it up to her room dropped her bag and work bag. She started undressing as she walked towards the bathroom. Hoping into the shower the water felt great. Her feet were burning and her back was throbbing. She washed up got out and brushed her teeth. Walking into the bedroom she changed into a shirt and sweatpants. She took her tips out of her pocketbook and went into the closet. Sitting on the floor with the hat box and money she went threw everything and made she everything was where it had to be.

Finally, it was time for bed. Looking at the bedside clock she saw it was after 9. Yawning again she laid down. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

_Rylie was in her childhood house. She saw the kitchen off the living room. The stairs were on her right. Up at the top to the left was her parent's room and down the hallway was her room and the guest room. She hadn't been here since her mom died. What was she doing here now after all these years? She heard voices coming from upstairs. One of them sounded like her father. She hadn't heard his voice since the morning he was shot. He called to tell them he missed them and that he would be coming home the next month. That evening the military sent the men no one wanted to see. So how was her farther upstairs now? Turning towards the stairs she ran for her parent's master suite. Turning into the room she saw her dad hogtied on the bed. Panic went through her body. She looked at her beloved father who had fear in his eyes. He had duct tape across his mouth and was trying to tell her something. Rylie ran over to him and ripped it off._

"_Get out Rylie. Go!" He whispered loudly. He looked up behind her and fear struck him again. "Don't touch her. Let her go." He said. Rylie turned around and saw the one person she didn't expect to see. The one person that never met her parents. Rylie jumped back in surprise._

"_What are you doing here?" She asked. Tears started to form in her eyes. Mike Carter tried to get in front of his daughter to protect her, from the one man she hated. _

"_I had to introduce myself to my future father-in-law. I'm surprised you came up here." What was Rylie's father doing here? He was dead for 10 years. He died in combat. Not caring why he was here she still tried to undo the knot. "DON'T!" The man shouted. Rylie flew back and covered her face. The man came at her._

"_Don't touch my daughter you sick fuck!" Mike shouted. The man took out a pistol and whipped Mike across the face with it. _

"_Daddy!" Rylie shouted wanting to go back to her father._

"_Told you if you left me I would hurt someone you cared for." He picked up the gun and aimed it. Rylie never heard such a loud pop in her life._

**AN::: Sorry for such a long delay. I have been pulling extra shifts at my job. And my days off consist of me catching up on all my chores around the house. **

**Let me know what you think of the chapter! Hope to have the next one up as soon as I can. **


	5. Chapter 5

"Rylie. Rylie!" The blonde heard but it sounded like it was in the distance. "Wake up Rylie." Rylie felt her body being shaken. Flying her eyes open she saw a man sitting in the bed she was sleeping on. Rylie screamed and flew back hugged her knees to her chest and head tucked down. She was breathing hard and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey Rylie is me. It's Stefan." Stefan said holding his hands up. Rylie looked up slowly only showing her eyes. "It's ok. It's just me. I won't hurt you." He said softly. Rylie was still crying. What kind of dream was that? This was the first time she had ever had this kind of dream. She never dreamt of her father, or the way he was shot and she never dreamt of 'him' in her childhood house.

"You alright?" the teen asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." She said with a rasp.

"You were screaming. I wouldn't say that you're fine."

"It was just a bad dream. I'm fine." The girl got up and went to her bathroom. She didn't bother to close the door. She turned on the sink and put her hands under the tap. She splashed water on her face. When she turned around with a towel against her face she bumped into Stefan. "Stefan, I swear I'm fine."

"Rylie, you were screaming like someone just died. Tell me what the dream was about."

"I don't remember." She lied. She walked past the younger and went to lie down. It was a little after 2 in the morning. "I'm sorry for waking you. Go back to bed. I will see you in the morning." Stefan watched the older girl and sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"Goodnight." She said brushing him off.

Stefan walked back up to his room. He was worried about his new friend. He didn't know what to do for her if she wouldn't tell him what was bothering her. She had been acting different since she came home from the Grill. She waved to Elena and him and went right up the stairs.

For the last couple weeks he had been trying to get information out of her about her past. Caroline had asked him to find something about her. Something that happened in her past. He had found some important stuff about her. But some stuff he couldn't get to. Someone else was doing a search on her too. He didn't know who or how many who's but there was someone else looking for Rylie.

Sleep took Stefan under pretty quickly again. Rylie wasn't so lucky. The dream freaked her out. She waited a while to leave her room. She wanted Stefan to go back to sleep. She headed out to the kitchen for a middle of the night snack. She entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. Opening up the freezer she chooses the ice cream. She grabbed a spoon and ate from the container. She had bought the ice cream for herself a few days earlier. She told the brothers to back off, that it was hers. She had her back to the kitchen entrance and didn't hear the footsteps approach.

"Taste good." She heard from behind her. She turned around and threw the spoon at the new comer. "Ouch." Damon said rubbing his chest.

"What the hell Damon? What are you doing up?"

"I heard the fridge open, I came to investigate. Why are you up?"

"I had a bad dream." She mumbled.

"Care to share?" Damon grabbed another spoon for the blonde and one for himself.

"Not my ice cream." Rylie said scooping the container away.

"I meant the dream. The spoon is for my ice cream. Since my new housemate doesn't share hers." He went to the freezer and grabbed a small Ben and Jerry's out. Rylie didn't answer back. She sat there and played with her dessert. "Earth to Rylie, are you going to share the dream?"

"I can't remember it." She lied. Damon sat down next to the blonde and she stiffened up. He had notice she was acting different since the scare with Chris earlier that night. But if she didn't want to share he was not going to force her into it.

"So, how's life?" He asked taking a bite of his chunky monkey ice cream. Rylie turned towards him with furrowed brows.

"I live in the same house as you. I think you would know how my life is going. I work and I sleep."

"Sounds like you need a life."

"Wanna share yours?"

"Trust me; you do not want my life." Rylie looked back down at her dessert and moved the melting cream around in a circle. You don't want mine, she thought to herself.

"Stefan said you guys lost your parents when you were young. I'm sorry. I know the pain." She saw Damon from the corner of her eye. He had put his head down and nodded it lightly. "I also heard about Andie." That makes his head snap towards her.

"You heard about her?"

"Yeah, word gets around. I'm sorry for your loss." She doesn't look up at him to feel his blue daggers glaring at her. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the dead girlfriend. She replaced the cap to her ice cream and put it away. "I think I'm going to go back to bed. Good night." Damon didn't respond as she left the room.

When Rylie awoke later that morning it was almost 11. She hadn't slept that late and to know she had nothing to do the rest of the day in a long while. She got up with a stretch. Falling back to sleep after her midnight snack was difficult. She tossed and turned for hours. When she finally fell asleep, it was more peaceful than it was. She got ready for the shopping day with Caroline. She was actually looking forward to it. She still had a few hours before the teen was out of school. Rylie dressed in a black lace razor back tank top, dark denim shorts and open toed black wedges. She added hanging black onyx earrings. She curled her hair a little and held it back with her black aviator sunglasses. When she was done she noticed there were dirty clothes everywhere. Looking around she saw there was no hamper, so she made a big pile and then went to look for one.

On the main floor she didn't see Damon. She knocked on his bedroom door but he wasn't answering if he was in there. She checked the living room, parlor, and kitchen for the raven head but he wasn't anywhere. Guess he's not home, she thought to herself. She went back to the kitchen and made a sandwich. She realized half way through her lunch she didn't even know where the washer and dryer were. She hadn't needed to do laundry since she arrived in Mystic Falls. With all the clothes Caroline gave her, Rylie didn't need to do laundry for a good two months. She could text Stefan and ask him where it was, or she could look for it herself. Old houses like this had to have come with a washroom. In her old house in Allentown, it was in the basement. But Damon told her the stairs were bad. However, she saw Stefan come up from the basement a few times. She never thought anything of it until now.

She cleaned up her dishes and looked around to make sure no one was watching her. She headed towards the mysterious door. Turning the knob she looked around again. She was nervous. Rylie knew she wasn't supposed to be going down there. But one, she wanted to know if the washer and dryer were down there. And two, what was the big deal about the basement anyway? Why could she not go down but they can if the stairs were that bad? The blonde opened the door wider but it was slammed shut. She jumped back and saw Damon leaning on the now closed basement door.

"Thought I told you not to go down there?"

"Sorry, I was looking for the washing machine. I have laundry to do." Damon looked at her threw slits. He had his arms folded and looked intimidating. Tucking her hair behind her ear she looked everywhere but at him.

"It's not down there. It's in the washroom down the hall. Stefan never showed you where it was?" Rylie shook her head. "Come on then, this way." He stood up straight and went down the hallway and opened a door on the left and reveled the machines. "Don't go down there. The stairs suck."

"I'm confused though."

"About the stairs being a death trap?"

"No. You and your brother go down there all the time. Because I had seen Stefan coming up from there before and you once or twice. But I can't go down there?"

"You are the tenant remember? You obey our rules. And one rule is no basement." Damon did have a point, Rylie thought. She just sighed and nodded her head. "Need anything else?"

"Laundry basket?" The older brother went into the room and retrieved a tall wicker basket.

"Thanks." Rylie said taking it. She started walking up the stairs when Damon spoke up.

"Did you have lunch yet?" Rylie turned around.

"Uh, yeah. I just had a sandwich. Do you want me to make you anything?"

"No, I was going to see if you wanted to go to the Grill for some lunch and a drink."

"If I knew you were home sooner I would have said sure. But I got laundry to do and then I'm going shopping with Caroline."

"Maybe another time." The raven head said. Rylie nodded with a small smile and left back to her room.

When she reached her suite she was confused. Damon had been stand offish with her since she arrived to Mystic Falls. And out of nowhere he asks her out to lunch. Was he on something? She shook her head at the idea. Maybe he was drunk. Rylie looked at her clock it was barley one in the afternoon. However, Damon has a track record of drinking. So it was possible. Wasn't he there when Caroline asked me to hang out? She thought to herself. He was she remembered. She shrugged it off as loss of memory.

After gathering her laundry she went down to the washroom and put a load on. What to do until Caroline got out of school? She already read the book she borrowed when she got here. She could read another one. She made her way to the study but was welcomed by Damon once again. He looked at her and she smiled. He gave a sideways smile and turned back around. What was it about him that made her feel so nervous? She kept her eyes on the binds of the books and tried not to notice him. The brothers really did have a lot of books.

She found a book she wasn't expecting to see. She stopped in her tracks and took the book out of the shelf. Rylie looked at the cover and snorted a small laugh while shaking her head. She looked over her shoulder slightly. Damon didn't look at her. She wondered if he had read this book, or it was just here for decoration. She looked back at the book. She put it in the crook of her arm and continued to look for more. She could really get a lot of reading done in this house. She found a few other books she thought looked interesting. She started for the door to leave when the raven head spoke up.

"Find anything good?" Rylie turned around. Damon wasn't looking at her, he was making bourbon. How the hell did he know she was leaving?

"Uh, yeah. I found a few. Hey, why do you have Twilight in your house? You and Stefan don't look like the vampire slash werewolf people." She asked walking toward him. She grabbed a glass and made her own drink. Damon snorted at the statement.

"We got some newer books for the library when we were thinking of having tenants again. But it didn't work out."

"Why is that?" She asked taking a sip.

"Life got in the way. More important things than playing house with strangers." Rylie nodded at the response. She understood that other things come in the way of what needs to get done. It happens to everyone. Damon took a sip of his drink. Rylie saw the big ring on his finger.

"That's some ring you got there." Damon looked down at it and shrugged.

"Family air loom. I got stuck with it." What was with everyone having a family air loom ring in this town? She thought.

"What is it?"

"It's the Salvatore crest." He said.

"I mean the stone."

"Lapis lazuli."

Rylie was shocked. Caroline had the same kind of ring. Well, the stone. She said it wasn't hard to get that kind of ring in this town.

"Can I see?" He put his glass down and took the ring off. He handed her the ring and it was a heavy item in her small hands. "Wow, I'm surprised you can keep your hand off the ground with the weight of this thing on you." She said examining it. "But it is a nice ring." She said handing it back.

"A little gaudy for my taste. But hey, I can't be picky." He said slipping it back on. He sent her a grin when it was in place. She smiled back when she heard her phone go off. She fished it out of her pocket and saw it was Caroline texting her.

_Thank God I am almost out of school. Retail therapy is what I need. Can't wait to see you._

Rylie replied with:

_I can't wait yo see you too. I ate lunch, but dinner tonight? Maybe drinks at the Boarding House after? You can spend the night._

"Blondie?" she heard. She looked up at Damon.

"Excuse me?"

"Was that Blondie?"

"If you mean Caroline then yes. She's almost out, so I have to finish getting ready. See you later." She said walking out of the room. When she reached her bedroom she threw the books onto the bed. She went over to the vanity and applied what little makeup she had. It was just her eyeliner and mascara. It would have to do. She mad a mental note to pick some other products up too. Before she left the room she grabbed her bag and threw the necessities into it. Such as her phone, wallet and her paperwork. Walking to the door she turned around to make sure she had everything. Nodding that she did she closed the door and left.

Rylie knew the younger blonde got out soon so she figured she would wait in the Salvatore living room until she got there. She sat on the couch and crossed her leg over the other and took out her phone to play a game. Half way through Caroline called.

"Hey." Rylie said to the younger. "On your way?"

"No. I am so mad. The cheerleading coach wants us to have an extra practice for tomorrow's game. And being captain I have to be there."

"Oh, well I understand Caroline. I've been there. Maybe dinner and drinks tonight then."

"No, come to practice. We can go shop for a little bit after. And then we can go out to dinner." Rylie thought about it for all of a second before she said yes. She wanted to see her friend. And they did have plans. It was just being altered now.

"Sure, give me a little so I can walk there."

"I will see you soon!" Caroline almost sang into the phone before hanging up.

Rylie put her head back. The school was a longer walk then the Grill. But she said she would go. And she liked watching the girls practice. Sighing, she stood up. She had to get going now if she would be there in time. Or at least see half the practice. She grabbed her bag and shoved her phone in. She knew it was warm that day so she went into the kitchen to grab a water bottle. When she entered she saw the raven head standing at the sink.

"Hey." She said walking to the fridge. Damon turned around fast. "Did I scare you?" she said with a small smile. "You don't seem like the one to get scared easily."

"I just didn't hear you. Usually you walk hard." He said defensively. Rylie rolled her eyes as she found her water bottle and closed the door. "Leaving?"

"Yeah, I gotta walk to the school. The coach told the girls there is an extra practice today. So since I have nothing else to do so I'm going to go see it."

"I'll take you. I'm going that way anyway. I need to speak to Ric."

"Really?" she asked surprised. Damon looked at her with frustration.

"I said I would take you. Don't expect it all the time." That was the Damon she knew. The dick. She nodded and turned on her heel.

"See you at the door." She called over her shoulder.

While waiting for Damon she leaned against the door frame of the living room. She grabbed her phone and texted the younger blonde and told her that Damon would be driving her to the school. She added a shocked face icon next to it. Caroline responded with a picture message with her hand on her shocked face. Rylie couldn't help but laugh at the picture. She didn't hear the older man walk up behind her.

"Something funny?" he asked. Rylie screamed and threw the phone into the air. She then protected her head. When she turned around the raven head was laughing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare the crap out of you."

"Well, you did _dick._" She said hitting him in the shoulder. Damon stumbled back but Rylie noticed that his arm was very hard. He must work out, she thought. Damon leaned down and handed her the phone.

"Ready?" he asked when she took the phone.

Damon saw the way that Rylie reacted to him scaring her. He ignored it. If she didn't want to talk about what she was running from, then he wasn't going to pry. If Caroline asked if anything happened, maybe he'd tell her. But he wasn't sure. It wasn't his place. And honestly he didn't care all that much.

It was enough the blonde was staying with him and his brother in the Boarding House. He had told her no in the beginning but of course the other vampires went behind his back and said yes. With all the crap that has been going down in the town the last few months, he didn't really need to look out for more humans. Ric was one thing. He could handle himself. Plus he had that 'bring me back to life' ring. Jeremy did too. But Matt didn't and neither did Rylie. He knew if anything happened to the newcomer that Stefan and Caroline would have a stake in him before dinner.

That was another thing that pissed him off. Stefan and Caroline were getting closed to this chick. They didn't know her. Caroline offered her clothes and a cell phone. Stefan is talking to her at all hours of the night. They are having dinner at Elena's. If something happened to her, he was not going to be responsible. Let them be. They were the ones that wanted to know everything about the girl. He could care less.

The two made it to the school faster than if Rylie had walked herself. Which she was glad for. It was a hot day and she did not want to be walking in this. She felt a pinch of pity for the cheerleading squad though. They would have to be out in the blazing sun rehearsing.

When Damon and Rylie pulled up, she saw Stefan's small red sports car in the parking lot. He was just putting the key in to leave when he spotted Damon's Camaro. He had the look of confusion on his face when he saw the blonde sitting next to his brother. He quickly dropped what he was doing and made his way over to the car. He opened the door for Rylie and helped her out.

"Such a gentleman Stefan. Maybe you can teach McScary pants over there some manners." She said pointing her thumb over her shoulder to the older brother.

"What are you guys doing here?" Stefan asked looking between the two.

"Well, I was supposed to go shopping with Caroline after school. But she got called for a cheerleading practice. I'm just here for moral support. Your brother needs to talk to Ric. So he offered me a ride. See you later." She said as she walked towards the field.

Stefan was still looking at his brother when the blonde left.

"Don't look so broody little brother. I didn't do anything to her expect give her a ride." Damon said closing the door to his car.

"Why do you need to talk to Ric?"

"Well, mister nosey, unless you have been doing some killing and haven't told me. I think we have a new vamp in town. Mayor Hopkins called earlier today and told me to look into it."

"So you thought you would talk to your friend before another vampire?"

"You were in school. I didn't want to ruin your studies. Education is very important. I didn't want you to miss a valuable piece of history or something like that."

"Who's been killed?" Stefan asked keeping up with Damon.

"A couple druggies. Near the lake. The vamp didn't even try to keep it a secret that they were here. Didn't try to even clean up after themselves. I will handle it like always. Just watch out for the humans like you always do. It's how we work."

"What did the Mayor and Liz say about this?" the younger brother asked concern written all over his face.

"At first Liz thought it was Rylie. I reassured her that she wasn't a vampire. But they want it handled right away."

"Why would she think it was Rylie?"

"She's the newest person in town Stefan. But I heard her heartbeat. I know she is human."

"What do you plan on doing about it?

"Well, for starters I'm going to talk to the town vampire hunter and asked him to help. Then we will take over and go from there. Don't worry brother, I got it."

"Don't sound so cocky of yourself Damon. There have been plenty of times that us other vampires has caught the guy. It was me that killed the tomb vampire who was going after you."

"It was also you who let Klaus not be killed too."

"Yeah and then where would we have been Damon? Caroline, Elena, Tyler, you and me would all be dead too. So be happy I didn't let you kill him. And if I remember correctly you killed my best friend." Damon stopped in his tracks. He turned and faced his little brother. They were nose to nose.

"Still won't let me live that down huh? It had to be done so you and I could stay around Mystic Falls. So you can stay with Elena."

"And so you can find Katherine." The younger mumbled.

"Why don't you go make sure someone is ok? Even better go have a bunny." Damon said and walked off leaving his brother where he was.

Rylie walked to the field feeling good. She would get to see her best friend, go shopping and then out to dinner. She didn't have to walk in this blazing sun from the Boarding House to the school. Thank God Damon was in a good mood to offer her a ride. She walked up to the bleachers and sat down. She looked for her blonde friend but didn't see her yet. She must still be in the locker room, she thought. She made herself comfortable with her water and cell phone. Unlocking her phone she saw she had a text from the young friend.

_The coach is running late. Let me know when you're here._

She replied with:

_I'm on the bleachers. Damon drove me. Something about having to see Alaric. _

She put her phone down and took a long swig of her water and waited. The heat was making her sweat a little. It was going to kill the girls on the field when they came out. She missed cheering but not in the heat. It wasn't so bad in Pennsylvania because it wasn't as hot as it was in Virginia. But after a long practice she couldn't wait to get home and shower.

She saw the some girls coming out of the school and she looked for her friend. And low and behold she was the first one out. The blonde jogged over and waved to her when she got close enough. Rylie waved back. Caroline came up to her on the bleachers and sat down.

"Why did Damon need to see Alaric?" she asked.

"I don't know. I didn't ask. And honestly, I don't care. I'm happy I didn't have to walk in this heat." The younger smiled a little. It looked like something was bothering her.

"Try practicing in it." She looked over and the other girls were gathering on the field and started stretching. "I was so mad that coach said we had practice. And she's not even here. I looked for her in the school and tried her cell I can't find her. I guess I will be leading practice today. All the girls are here."

"Then make it short. You guys rock. I don't know why she wanted one to begin with." Rylie replied.

"I might do that. I have a girl date with my best friend. No reason to keep her waiting."

"I will just work on my tan." She shrugged.

"Well, I better get it started. So we can shop and eat. Still wanna have a sleep over at your place tonight?"

"Yeah, we can drink and have a good old slumber party."

"Sounds like a good girl's night for me." With that she got up and walked down the bleachers to the other girls.

Caroline was conducting the practice. Rylie was watching but her mind was wandering too. She had seen the girls do these cheers that she could do them in her sleep if she wanted to. Something caught her eye near the school. When she turned to look she saw Alaric and Damon walking over to the practice. Weird, she thought. Why would they be coming this way? They never came to practice. Especially Damon. She had seen Alaric at the school before when Caroline was getting dressed. She had a few conversations with him. But nothing out of the blue about the history teacher being at the school he worked at. Caroline must have seen them too. She called a 5 minute break. The other girls walked to their water bottles and she walked to the men. After conversing for only a short while Caroline looked at her friend with worry. That caught Rylie's attention loud and clear. But why would she look at the older blonde? Did she do something wrong?

When Caroline got back to the girls she told them practice was over. She waved Rylie to come down. The older packed up her water and phone into her bag and went down the bleachers. She walked to her friend and smiled. Damon and Alaric were still standing at the edge of the field waiting. For what?

"Everything ok?" Rylie asked

"Yeah, everything is fine." She smiled. "I cut practice short so we can go eat. I just have to do something with Damon and Ric really quick. Stefan said he will take you home and then I will be over right after to go shopping. Are you mad?" she was disappointed but if they needed her help for something then she couldn't be that mad.

"No, I mean I'm disappointed but I understand. Where is Stefan?"

"He's by his car. Caroline go get changed and I will take her to the car." Damon said walking up.

"I can find the parking lot just fine. Thanks though." She said. She gave Caroline a small smile and said hi to the teacher. She turned on her heel and walked away. But Damon was right behind her. "Guess your deaf too. But ok, you can walk me to the car."

"I'm just trying to be nice. Like you told my little brother I need to learn some of his manners. Well, here you go." He said offering his arm like he was taking her to prom or something. She looked down at it and then at him.

"Really? First a car ride and then you're offering your arm?"

"Take it or leave it." She shrugged and took it. What are the chances that Damon Salvatore would do it again? "Though so." he mumbled. Rylie thought to herself, this guy really is cocky. She rolled her eyes.

The two made it to the red sports car and saw Stefan leaning on it. He was watching them approach.

"Bring her to the Boarding House. Caroline said she would pick her up when she's done." Damon said.

"I know the plan." the younger said. He opened the door for Rylie and she stepped in. Stefan went around to the other side of his car and hopped into the driver's seat. He started the car and pulled out slowly. He looked worried. Something was definitely up. But what was it? Why wasn't anyone saying anything?

"Stefan?" She asked. He looked over at her. "What's going on? I mean why did Caroline get pulled away with Ric and your brother?"

"She has to help them with something. It won't take too long."

Even though something was telling her that something was off she just replied, "I hope not. I'm hungry."

**AN:: So I haven't been getting the response to this story like I have with my last one. Reviews really are what keep me motivated. **

**As most of you all know, I have been extremely busy the last few months. And it won't change anytime soon. But I have been working on this chapter for what feels like months. And in fact it has been weeks. The next chapter is already started. But if you want me to post it I need more than like 2 reviews a chapter. I want to hear your opinions. What do you want to know? What do you want to happen? This is the stuff that keeps my minds spinning. I already have future chapters slowly being written between work and being a mom. But like I said I'm not getting the responses that I have liked to have gotten. **

**So if you want me to load Chapter 6, leave a review. As a guest or as a user! PLEASE! I love the story, and what I have planned for it. And I want you as my minions to like the story as well. **


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